In case you are wondering what RTI interventions for kindergarten should look like, I am here to explain and give you some ideas on how to get this going. Now whether or not RTI is developmentally appropriate for kindergarten is a debate for another day. LOL Either way, I will show you how some RTI interventions for kindergarten look.
What is RTI?
In case you are wondering what RTI stands for (I’ve been there), it means response to intervention. Essentially, it is a fancy way to say that you notice a student has a need, and you respond. Sounds like we do RTI all day everyday. By that definition, we are! There are 3 tiers of RTI. Tier 1, 2, and 3.
RTI Tiers
Tier 1
All students are in Tier 1 RTI. This is your basic whole group and small group instruction. These are the students that you teach daily on grade level.
Tier 2
These are students who score below on your benchmark assessments. They score in the bottom (usually 20-25%). Your school may have a different “cut score” but the standard is 20-25%.
Tier 3
These are the students that score well below on your benchmark assessments. They will score in the bottom 10%. Again, your “cut” score may vary but this is an average. These students are at very high risk of falling behind their peers and will need serious interventions to move closer to grade level.
How many students get RTI interventions for kindergarten?
In theory, you should not have more than 20% of your students in RTI. This does not include your SPED students that will be serviced under that umbrella. You may also have 504 students that may or may not need RTI. It depends on if their deficit is being met through their 504 accommodations. Things get tricky but essentially, if you take out your students being serviced by other programs meeting their needs, you should not have more than 20% that are scoring in that percentile on your benchmark.
What if there is more than 20%?
You may have to do some digging to get to the root cause. Are the scores valid? Is the COVID-slide playing a part, is there an issue with your whole group instruction and small group? Are you doing small groups regularly? These are all reflective things to look at when analyzing your student data.
So what does RTI look like in Kindergarten?
A good place to start is with small groups. Targeted intervention lessons 3-5 times a week based on your students’ deficits. You will use your benchmark to find the specific deficit. Another option if you have technology is a learning-based program. The reading program may be an additional 15 mins X 3 times a week etc. My suggestion would be to utilize both if you have the technology to do so.
RTI Resource
Most big box curriculums do not have RTI resources unless you buy something separately. KUDOs to you if your district has RTI resources but if you are looking for something systematic, explicit, and differentiated to meet different learning styles then you may want to check out my Kindergarten Intervention Letters and Sounds.
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